Her Daughter's Eyes
by Suzotchka
Summary: The wars did not just go on for a few years. How would this effect the officers' personal lives?
1. Chapter 1

Her Daughter's Eyes

Summary: The wars went on for more than just a few years. How would this effect the personal lives of the officers?

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. I think the title is also someone else's. I think I may have heard it somewhere but I don't remember where. Of course, Babylon 5 stuff isn't mine either.

Chapter One

By her earliest memories, the station was already marked by years of wartime shortages. All she remembered of the station were the scarred, grayed wall and floors, carpets burned and gray as ash, no matter how much they were cleaned. It was always cold, the lighting was always dim. They didn't have the energy to run these systems. Most of the time the oxygen was thinner than it should be. It didn't bother her so much, she was so used to it. But Mama's lungs were damaged from working in smoke filled burning areas after attacks so many times that the lack of oxygen made her wheeze. It was often the first sound that Hadassah woke up to. Still it didn't bother her too much. She thought that was the way things were supposed be. The room they lived in was not the room allotted to the executive officer of a military base and certainly not the second in command of the largest army ever summoned and of a new council which was in the process of being formed. Excluding the bath and closet, their entire living space was only 10 by 12 feet, a single multi purpose room. A single bed, slightly larger than a twin was pressed between the closet and bathroom doors. It was Mama's bed, Hadassah had a smaller collapsible bed which slid under her mother's, but as the child was only five, and there was so little room in their room, the smaller bed stayed put away and mother and daughter shared the larger bed. In the corner of the opposite wall was a small fridge, a stove with only two burners and a tiny oven set on a counter, a small sink and two cupboards. In the other corner was their table with four chairs, which served as a desk, dining table and living area. They didn't have any sofas, rather four large cushions to be placed on the floor as a sitting area. There was a bookshelf which held only the Torah, Hadassah's school books, Mama's ledgers and account books or those related to her work and desk supplies. Instead of a proper dressing table, there was a bed side table size table which held only two brushes, two extra clips each, deodorant and Mama's one lipstick and a tiny bottle of rose water. Their shared closet was rather bare. In each corner there was a pair of basic dress shoes, in Mama's a pair of black stilettos and in her own dressy Mary Jane type shoes. Her every day Mary Janes were as well but Mama's military boots were gone. Her sandal like slippers were in their place. Hadassah took out her Mary Janes and put her own slippers in their place. She had a navy blue dress, three tunic and loose pants sets for regular use, three skirts and blouses for school and two sweaters, one formal and one casual in her closet. All of this was clean, neatly maintained and ironed by Mama, her shoes perfectly polished. Mama no longer wore uniform, nor did anyone else. The cloth was too expensive. Mama had a full sleeved ankle length black silk dress, three peasant blouses, a black vest and ankle length skirt and a deep green half cloak and long skirt set hanging in closet, similarly ironed and maintained. That meant Mama was wearing the burgundy skirt and vest with peasant blouse set. Each skirt flared in an Eastern European way yet each was different. All their clothes were hand sown by Mama, no longer could they buy clothes or have someone sew them. Undergarments and socks, slips and petticoats were in the drawers underneath. The final of the three drawers was used to store extra cloth. Hadassah opened it, scraps of silk which if color coordinated could make them each another formal dress. There was enough fabric to make them each another skirt and blouse if necessary. Hadassah had no idea how long it would be before more cloth could be found. If she ruined her clothes there was no telling how long it would be before they could find new ones. It was a sobering thought for a five year old. She pulled on her knit leggings and skirt, blouse and undergarments by herself. She had no idea how long she had been doing this. She put on the shoes and buckled them. She had washed her face and brushed her teeth earlier. Mama never had time to remind her. She put on her sweater and made her hair. Her school bag was already packed with her books, supplies and homework. Her breakfast of toast and jam with powder milk, the only kind they ever had. Mama didn't even use it in her coffee which was more like a tree bark drink just so Hadassah would have enough. Her lunch was packed on the table. She opened the tin box to reveal a vegetable sandwich, a thermos of soup, a turnover and cookies for her snack as she would be at school a long time. The thermos was rather small, more like a soup bowl with a lid, so there was enough room for her drink bottle which held an artificial fruit drink that still had enough vitamins that Mama gave it to her and her folded up glass for water from the water fountain. She would walk by herself to the school set up for military and ranger children mostly so that they could stay after classes ended until their parents came to get them, whenever that might be. The school was run on minimal supplies, so the children had to bring food. She only ate one of the two pieces of toast with the large glass of powdered milk, so she folded up and wrapped the second piece up so that she could take it with her. She would then have enough if she rationed the food to have dinner, in case Mama did not come by that time. Luckily the soup was enough for two meals and the sandwich , turnovers, and four cookies were large. Mama saved money by buying all scratch supplies and by getting them from the end of the barrel and then working with them to make their meals, which was time consuming, but it allowed Hadassah to eat well and for that she was grateful. David, who was a year older than her existed on snacks mostly because neither of his parents could do what Mama did. Often Mama took stuff to them because they could not spare the people so that the Sheridans could have someone prepare their meals for them. Long ago, Lennier had been reassigned to more important tasks. It was time for class. She put on her cap and bag with her lunch inside and met up with David who lived a few doors down in a slightly larger room because there were three of them and he had to sleep in his own bed. She handed him a package of cookies that Mama had sent for him. The six year old looked relieved. He had only a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a bruised but good orange, chips and the two pancakes he had saved from breakfast to last him the day, but his Aunt never forgot him. As they got into the classroom, the station began to shake. The room was in the core of the station , the safest place from battle. The lights were flashing. Still the room was relatively calm. They were children of war in the true sense. Even the youngest child present was accustomed to the situation. No one younger than ten remembered anything else. As Hadassah finished her lessons and settled down to read as she always did as she waited for Mama, she couldn't help but wonder if Mama would make it to come back for her.


	2. Chapter 2

Her Daughter's Eyes.

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Hadassah and the plot.

Author's note: I was disappointed to find that I didn't have any reviews for this story. I realized after the story was already on line that the paragraph was rather long. It was not supposed to be. It is also rather deviant from the plot line. I assure you the story will not remain so. The first paragraph was just providing background information as to what is different. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this and please review.

That battle went on for a good twelve hours. Afterwards, most of the children remained in the school as their parents struggled to repair the heavily damaged station. After another twelve hours had gone by, most of the children had returned to their parents, even David, whose ambassador mother had a limited role in the Alliance these days. Diplomacy had more or less failed and while there was a continued effort to form alliances, it served little practical purpose. Hadassah was taken to Brother Theo's and the monks where she spent time in similar situations. It was nearly two days later when her mother returned. The school closed for a few days as it always did after major battles. The children would be in communal day cares, for the most part. Hadassah preferred the company of the simply devout yet well educated monks, who returned her affection and tutored her when school was canceled. By the time Susan Ivanova ran in to see her daughter, still in the clothes she had worn the day of the attack, hair loose, streaks of grease from machine oils over her face, bags from sleeplessness and weariness from days of constant work, someone had fetched some of her daughter's things from their quarters and cared for her, lead her in lessons, seen to her basic needs and kept her company. The five year old ran to her mothers arms. The tired woman after thanking the men had wrapped an arm around the child's shoulders and lead her through their halls. It was time for dinner. As her mother made sandwiches and found tomato soup she had frozen earlier and thawed and warmed it, Hadassah put away her things. Everything was in place and clean. Even the clothes she had taken with her had been cleaned and ironed. She was ahead in her homework and it was all checked. The two ate and Mama packed the leftovers for Hadassah's lunch. Hadassah bathed and went to bed. Susan ironed clothes for the next day and prepared everything, took a shower without bothering to wash her clothes and fell into the bed with her daughter in an exhausted sleep. To Hadassah, this schedule or lack there of was the norm in her young life.

The year was 2266. It was nearly seven years into the two wars that shook the galaxy and Babylon 5 was in the middle of them both. Shortly after the wars started, trade started to taper off. Despite early victories, the fact was that the Alliance was basically a rebellion fighting two wars with minimal forces. Their Earth based businesses and bank accounts had been sealed. To save money they had moved quarters and sold most of their possessions, as had many of the crew. Even now, Susan and Hadassah were subsisting on less than a hundred credit's a month. Their food was all scratch products from the end of the barrel that Susan used to feed them. The cloth came from the end of the roll of cloth. The leather was hand made by some of the rangers. Hadassah had no memory of her mother's jewels handed down from her mother; they had been sold before she was born, as had the silver and dishes. However, she did remember Susan selling off her collection of books one by one until all that remained was the Torah.

The next day Susan returned in the early evening, a rare occurrence for her. Both mother and child showered quickly and dressed in black and blue silk dresses respectively. Susan tied a long piece of red silk around her waist, brushed her hair out, wore her only stilettos and one lipstick and perfume. Hadassah who wore her navy blue dress and shoes thought her mother, in her simple dress, looked beautiful. The two joined hands and walked to the small banquet hall where they met up with the Sheridans, Garibaldi, Franklin and a few other officers in waiting for a few business men they hoped to impress enough to use Babylon 5 for trade in hopes of gaining desperately needed credits. As the officers waited, Ranger representatives began to arrive, one of them the Entilzah who had been on various planets as he was needed, in recognition of the help the merchant could provide. After his aides entered, the officers rose to greet him. A tall man with dark locks and beard and a muscular build came in and headed straight for her mother, a huge smile on his face as he pressed his lips against hers and murmured something softly in a British accent. Mama allowed his attentions with a gentle smile. After several minutes he came to kneel in front of Hadassah and said to the child's surprise, " Hello, my girl." running a hand through her hair and pressing a package into her hands before their guest arrived and all rose to meet him.

Author's note: What do you think? Please read and review. I appreciate all comments.


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